Mary Cassatt was born in 1844 in Pennsylvania, USA as the daughter of a wealthy merchant. At the age of seven her family left for Paris in France. After a few years of life in Paris, the family went back to the USA. Impressed by all the art she had seen in Europe, she surprised her parents by the wish to become an artist. Becoming an artist in the 19th century was as difficult for a woman as becoming a doctor. Society then had a different understanding of the role of women.

Finally Mary won and her parents allowed her to visit the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1866 she went back to Paris. She copied the old masters in the Louvre and other museums. The young woman artist had acquired pretty good skills in traditional art style and in 1874 a Mary Cassatt painting was even accepted by the judges of the Salon. In 1877 she made the acquaintance of Degas, with whom she was to be on close terms throughout his life. His art and ideas had a considerable influence on her own work; he introduced her to the Impressionists and she participated in the exhibitions of 1879, 1880, 1881 and 1886, refusing to do so in 1882 when Degas did not. Degas was refused by the Salon and along with a group of Impressionists who were refused by the Salon they established their own show, the Salon des Refuses. Edgar Degas introduced her to his friends Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and other Impressionist rebels.

Some art historians think Mary Cassatt was also Dega's mistress. This is however rather questionable as Degas was considered a convinced misogynist. Under the influence of Edgar Degas and the other Impressionists the artist Mary Cassatt changed her painting style. She used light colors and began to paint people. Mary Cassatt's favorite subjects became children and women with children in ordinary scenes. Her paintings express a deep tenderness and her own love for children. But she never had children of her own.

The artist's artistic breakthrough came in 1892, when she received a commission for a mural for the Woman's Building at the Chicago World's Fair. The mural painting got lost after the fair and has not shown up until today.

Mary Cassatt influenced Impressionism not only as an artist. She also had an important role in sponsoring and in financial promotion of Impressionist art. She often bought paintings of her friends when they were short of cash. And with her connections to rich American families, she encouraged many of her countrymen to buy Impressionist art. Quite a few of the great Impressionist art collections in the USA were established as a result of her activities. The collection of 19th century French paintings of the Havemeyers was largely mediated by her. The collection is now in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The artist Mary Cassatt would have made a poor career as a diplomat. She never held back with her opinion. Fortunately her wealth made her independent from what others thought about her. Especially when she grew older, her frankness could sometimes become insulting. She did not like the modern artists like Henri Matisse or Pablo Picasso and spoke of "dreadful paintings". Even her Impressionist colleagues were whacked. For Claude Monet's late works  his famous water-lily paintings  she found the words "glorified wallpaper".

The Short Biographies series from Applewood’s Benna Books imprint features short, intriguing, and entertaining biographies of world-renowned figures. Each beautiful hardcover book includes an interesting retelling of a single person's life, suitable for young adults and adults alike. These little gems will become beloved souvenirs of a favorite artist or a memorable trip to a museum.

This surprising study examines the extent to which Mary Cassatt influenced the work of her contemporary Edgar Degas. Edgar Degas's influence upon Mary Cassatt has long been acknowledged, but her role in shaping his artistic production and in preparing the way for his warm reception in America is fully examined for the first time.

The female members of the nineteenth-century Impressionist movement are usually painted out of official art history, although Edouard Manet, for one, testified to the talents of his friends Berthe Morisot (whose "Harbor at Lorient" of 1869 he so admired that she gave it to him) and Eva Gonzalès (the only pupil Manet ever took), and discussed matters of painting with them as readily as with male peers like Edgar Degas. Even Degas himself, notoriously misogynistic, invited Mary Cassatt to exhibit with him (she was the only American to do so); and Marie Bracquemond also exhibited at the Impressionist exhibitions of 1879, 1880 and 1886, despite the discouragement of her husband. All of these women practiced and supported Impressionism from its earliest days, when it was still a popular sport to deride it. Nonetheless, for Morisot, Gonzalès, Bracquemond and Cassatt, the chances of equivalent long-term recognition were predictably slim, and while their own individual oeuvres were too strong and too omnipresent in their own time to be entirely eradicated from the annals of art, they have rarely received due attention in the hands of subsequent commentators.

This stunning 400-page compendium, published to accompany the important traveling exhibition which goes to San Francisco in the summer of 2008, corrects this longstanding oversight, presenting these pioneering painters alongside each other for the first time, reproducing their oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, drawings and etchings and offering a cogent rebuttal of familiar Impressionist narratives.

Born into the male dominated world of the nineteenth century, middle-class Pennsylvania society, Mary Cassatt became a feminist and turned what was a lady's accomplishment into a profession becoming a radical painter, working in Paris and exhibiting with the Impressionists. Degas, Manet, Gauguin and Pissaro, amongst others, knew and admired her work, and yet, since her death in 1926, Cassatt has received little critical acclaim, and her importance, both personally as an individual artist and historically within the evolution of the Impressionist movement, has largely been obscured.

The efforts of the feminist movement in the last decade, however, have stimulated long-deserved public and critical interest in Mary Cassatt. Griselda Pollock examines the reasons for the unjust neglect of one of America's outstanding artistic talents. She gauges the wide variety of influences which shaped her career, from her commitment to her early oils and pastels and her study of the techniques of the Old Masters, her exploration of modernist ideas to her later interest in the methods of Japanese print-making.

As you read Chessman's second novel (after Ohio Angels), be prepared for an insightful and moving tale about a great American painter and her family. Here is the poignant story of Lydia, Mary Cassatt's sister, who details the important role she played in the creation of Cassatt's early Impressionist paintings. Each chapter centers on a painting by Mary that involves Lydia, and the narrative offers wonderful insight into Cassatt's bold life and her relationships with artists such as Renoir, Caillebotte, and especially Degas. Though Lydia is fighting a horrible battle against Bright's disease, she continues to pose for her sister and to live her life with courage and dignity.Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The world's most famous artists are highlighted in these concise and vibrantly colorful volumes. Each book in the series contains 80 pages of full-color reproductions along with authoritative text about the featured artist. A perfect souvenir for museum visits and a special gift for all art lovers.

Cassatt is known as the painter of mothers and children and as one of the few women Impressionists. Mathews, a renowned Cassatt expert, illuminates facets of the painter's life that have never before been articulated.

Via paintings, prints, and pastels created by Mary Cassatt throughout her career, this book explores the main facets of feminine lifesolitary, social, public, and intimateand offers an intriguing look into the world of women in the late 19th century. 50 color photos. 10 archival prints.

In an era when few American women pursued careers outside of marriage and motherhood, Mary Cassatt's ambition and professional independence were noteworthy. Her paintings of mothers and children are known the world over for their honest sensitivity. 120 full-color plates. 110 b&w illustrations.

Leading Cassatt expert Mathews ( Mary Cassatt, LJ 6/15/87) continues her exemplary scholarship in conjunction with Shapiro, a specialist in prints and also a writer on Cassatt. Cassatt was trained as a painter, but here the authors explore her work as a printmaker possessing a virtuosity unmatched by that of her Impressionist contemporaries, who were influenced by her print oeuvre . In the prints Mathews finds confirmation of the thesis that Cassatt passed from Impressionism to "a quieter, more classic art." Boasting the completeness of a catalogue raisonne, this sumptuous work surely will remain the leading resource for decades to come. Highly recommended. Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson State Univ., Md. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mary Cassatt was anything but conventional. This book chronologically portrays her lifelong artistic journey from her days as a child living abroad to her earned success as the only female American member of the French Impressionists.

Reader review: As many know, American painter John Singer Sargent (18561925) was not only a gifted landscape artist but was also recognized as the outstanding society portraitist of his day. One often thinks of him in connection with his painting of Madame X and the scandal that ensued. However, we are reminded of a much different Sargent when we view his portraits of children, so innocent, so appealing.

Unmarried and childless, Mary Cassatt nevertheless became America's first impressionist painter with her everyday depictions of mothers and children. This 55-minute documentary takes viewers to Paris and its countryside where the expatriate mixed with the likes of Edgar Degas, became the only American invited to join the French impressionists, and contributed to the burgeoning women's suffrage movement. Drawing upon excerpts of letters and diaries from her family, fellow painters, and friends--as well as her own words--this authoritative film explores her influences, as varied as her spirited mother to the masters hanging in the Louvre. Narrator Anne Archer also details Cassatt's significant role in the changing of the art world and challenges like the depressions after the deaths of family members, which kept her from painting for years at a time. Throughout, viewers are treated to footage of her paintings, and those of her friends and influences.Kimberly Heinrichs

Children and naturalism are the hallmarks of Mary Cassatt's work during the 1880s and 1890s. Cassatt absorbed from her Impressionist colleagues Caillebotte, Degas, and Renoir, as well as her study of Japanese prints, the modern idea that the background of a painting might be as significant as the foreground. Her paintings depict a world of her own creation, one that adults can fully understand only by recapturing their childhood persona. The program provides an in-depth look into her life, and includes numerous examples of her works while examining her style which made her unique in the world of art. This original program also features spectacular imagery and many rare historical photographs.

One of the greatestand most popularof the Impressionists, Mary Cassatt created some of her most inventive and appealing images in the print medium. Documenting a startling new discovery, this exquisitely produced book unveils 204 major prints and drawings that have been sequestered in a private collection for nearly half a century.

A groundbreaking new study that redefines Mary Cassatt's status in the Parisian avant-garde and in American art, placing her work in the wider context of 19th-century feminism and art theory. 184 illustrations, 55 in color.

The shortness of the volume (and the plentitude of excellent black-and-white illustrations and color plates) tends to restrict this monograph to survey length. Yet the book includes a clear definition of the artist's personality, a revised chronology, and a balanced analysis of Cassatt's development, showing for example that she was a true Impressionist for only nine years.

This unique selectionpublished to coincide with a major national exhibitionsalutes Cassatt's extraordinary gift for depicting the sanctity of the home and her remarkable sensitivity to life's moments of repose. 40 color illustrations.

The first program to celebrate Cassatt's remarkable career tells her personal story the years in Paris, her relationship with Degas, the influence of her socially prominent Philadelphia familywith on-location footage and stills. The best examples of her work have been collected here, revealing the quality, variety, and originality of this great 19th-century American painter.

Lindsay's essay responds to a need greater than that for an exhibition catalog: it presents the artist in a new role as liaison between the art centers of Paris and Philadelphia Mary Cassatt and Philadelphiatheir significance to future generations of American art-lovers is clearly defined within the contents of this publication. The books social overtones are informative and its thesis is one that has all too often been overlooked.

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